2016 ELECTION/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hours after he was sworn in as America’s 45th president, Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, swayed together to a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic ‘My Way,’ as hundreds of their wealthiest and most influential supporters held aloft smartphones to capture the Trumps’ first dance following the inauguration. Serhiy Kivalov, a Ukrainian lawmaker known for pro-Russian initiatives, took photos of the dance, as well as of his coveted tickets and passes to the soiree where it took place, the Liberty Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, posting them on Facebook and declaring that ‘it was an honor’ to attend. He was one of at least a dozen Ukrainian political and business figures who made their way to Washington for the inauguration, several of whom attended the Liberty Ball. Most had more on their dance cards than just parties…Evidence of the Ukrainians’ presence eventually prompted interest from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, as he investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, and has spawned a number of related inquiries by federal prosecutors.”
–Kenneth P. Vogel, Scott Shane, Mark Mazzetti and Iuliia Mendel, “Prosecutors Examining Ukrainians Who Flocked to Trump Inaugural,” The New York Times online, January 10, 2019